If you're a Boomer with an older spouse, or a Boomer charged with caregiving for elderly parents, listen up. An FDA-approved stroke treatment that the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association does not recommend for patients older than 80 has been shown to be effective for that age group. According to MedPage Today, lead researcher Peter Sandercock, DM from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland said that in his recent study, a subgroup analysis of 1,617 patients older than 80 suggested "greater benefit" from recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in these patients, "contrary to expectations." The benefits were greatest iftreatment was administered within 3 hours, and that result did not appear to be lessened for elderly patients. Not only that, but MedPage Today reports that a second study by Joanna M. Wardlaw, MD and colleagues, also from the University of Edinburgh, corroborated that finding. Both of the studies were published May 23rd online in The Lancet. In an accompanying editorial, Didier Leys, MD and Charlotte Cordonnier, MD from Roger Salengro Hospital in Lille, France wrote that Wardlaw's team "found no difference in the number of events between those older and younger than 80, whether treated with thrombolysis or placebo." They added, … Continue reading →

Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Stroke Also Included In: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials Article Date: 28 May 2012 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for: 'Stroke Survivors Benefit From Clot Buster' Led by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, the international trial, known as IST-3, found that for every 1,000 patients that received the clot-buster within the first three hours of a stroke, 80 more survive and live without help from others, compared to patients not receiving the drug. The IST-3 collaborative group write about their findings in a paper that was published online in The Lancet on 23 May. Alongside the trial results they also present an analysis of all other drug trials of rt-PA conducted in the last 20 years. IST-3 stands for the third International Stroke Trial. Its aim was to find out whether a wider range than hitherto of patients treated within the first 6 hours from stroke onset might benefit. One of the IST-3 group members, Professor Peter Sandercock, is Chief Investigator at Edinburgh's Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and Director of Edinburgh Neuroscience. He told the press: "Our trial shows that it is crucial that treatment is given as fast as possible to … Continue reading →

THE MAKATI Medical Centers Cancer Center celebrated its first year anniversary and marked the occasion with the launch of its Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory. Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Dr. Eric Flores, head, Spine Clinic and Stem Cell Lab; Rosalie Montenegro, Makati Medical Center president and CEO; Dr. ManuelO. Fernandez Jr., executive vice president and director, Professional Services; Dr. Remedios G. Suntay, director and treasurer, MDI Board; Dr. Benjamin N. Alimurung, medical director; Dr. Francis Chung, scientific officer, Stem Cell Lab; and Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., executive director, president and CEO, MPIC Hospital Group. MAKATIMEDS Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is managed by experienced scientists with extensive training and is affiliated with the International Society for Cellular Therapy. Stem cell therapy is now being offered at Makati Medical Center (MMC) as potential cure for a wide range of illnesses, from various types of cancer and heart ailments to incurable diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons and Alzheimers. Stem cell therapy is believed to be effective in bone marrow transplant for leukemia patients, and with early intervention, yields desirable results among renal and prostate cancer patients. Launched in the first year anniversary of the hospitals cancer center, MMCs Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is equipped … Continue reading →

28 May 2012 Last updated at 09:14 ET A 54m cutting-edge stem cell research centre in Edinburgh has been officially opened by the Princess Royal. The Royal opened the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine as well as the 24m bio-incubator facility, Nine, in the Edinburgh BioQuarter. Research into conditions such as multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease will benefit from the new facilities in Little France. The Princess Royal unveiled plaques at the centres. Edinburgh University's Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine is the first large-scale, purpose-built facility of its kind and provides accommodation for up to 250 stem cell scientists. The centre, funded by Edinburgh University, Scottish Enterprise, the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the British Heart Foundation through its Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, is being opened by the Princess Royal in her role as Chancellor of Edinburgh University. It includes the most up-to-date facilities in the UK, which meet the highest guidelines, to manufacture stem cell lines that could be used for patient therapies. Nine, which has been jointly funded by Scottish Enterprise and the UK government's department for business, innovation and skills, has 85,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space for both established biotechnology companies and … Continue reading →

By the time Dr. Spencer Misner had carved away the dead and diseased flesh from Bobby Rices right foot last year, little remained other than bones and tendons. I couldnt believe it. It didnt look real. It looked like something out of a movie, recalled Rice, a Whitfield County resident. Today, the ankle has almost completely healed. It looks like Rice had simply scraped it. And Rices foot has largely healed, too. Misner credits cutting-edge stem cell treatments for saving Rices foot and leg. Rice, who has diabetes, stepped on a piece of glass last fall and his foot quickly became infected. After trying a home remedy, Rice eventually went to Daltons Hamilton Medical Center emergency room, where doctors found he had a rapidly spreading necrotizing fasciitis, or in laymans terms, flesh-eating bacteria. Physicians treated the infection with antibiotics. However, Rice had one toe amputated. Doctors had to strip away much of the flesh from Rices foot and a great deal of flesh along his ankle. We did what we had to do, Misner said. We got the infection out. We saved his life. But what do you do next? Wed normally say all you can do now is cut … Continue reading →

Washington: A growing number of Americans are travelling to India to seek treatment for rare diseases through India's experimental embryonic stem cell therapy, according to an investigative report. Among them Cash Burnaman, a 6-year-old South Carolina boy, who travelled with his parents to India seeking treatment for a rare genetic condition that has left him developmentally disabled, CNN reported. "Cash is mute. He walks with the aid of braces. To battle his incurable condition, which is so rare it doesn't have a name, Cash has had to take an artificial growth hormone for most of his life," it said. A growing number of Americans are travelling to India to seek treatment for rare diseases through experimental embryonic stem cell therapy. His divorced parents, Josh Burnaman and Stephanie Krolick, have paid tens of thousands of dollars to have Cash undergo experimental injections of human embryonic stem cells at New Delhi's NuTech Mediworld run by Dr Geeta Shroff, a retired obstetrician and self-taught embryonic stem cell practitioner. Shroff first treated Cash -- who presents symptoms similar to Down Syndrome -- in 2010. "I am helping improve their quality of life," she told CNN. After five weeks of treatment, Cash and his parents … Continue reading →

THE MAKATI Medical Centers Cancer Center celebrated its first year anniversary and marked the occasion with the launch of its Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory. Present at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Dr. Eric Flores, head, Spine Clinic and Stem Cell Lab; Rosalie Montenegro, Makati Medical Center president and CEO; Dr. ManuelO. Fernandez Jr., executive vice president and director, Professional Services; Dr. Remedios G. Suntay, director and treasurer, MDI Board; Dr. Benjamin N. Alimurung, medical director; Dr. Francis Chung, scientific officer, Stem Cell Lab; and Augusto P. Palisoc Jr., executive director, president and CEO, MPIC Hospital Group. MAKATIMEDS Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is managed by experienced scientists with extensive training and is affiliated with the International Society for Cellular Therapy. Stem cell therapy is now being offered at Makati Medical Center (MMC) as potential cure for a wide range of illnesses, from various types of cancer and heart ailments to incurable diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons and Alzheimers. Stem cell therapy is believed to be effective in bone marrow transplant for leukemia patients, and with early intervention, yields desirable results among renal and prostate cancer patients. Launched in the first year anniversary of the hospitals cancer center, MMCs Cellular Therapeutics Laboratory is equipped … Continue reading →